Jack Pendle

Said the following about Glyn Oliver:

“With over 40 years in the industry, I have seen 100’s of people come and go but I can say that Glyn has truly made a great impression on myself and his team of being one of the most 'adult' young professionals I’ve ever seen.

Since becoming aware of this confident, intelligent and hardworking apprentice, I have been keen to learn more about him and I was not disappointed. Glyn has the ability to show maturity well beyond his years, his skills developed every week and he quickly became a very valued member of the company.

For someone so young, Glyn is mature beyond his years and is seen by those undertaking apprenticeships as a peer mentor; someone they can talk to and look up to. I can see Glyn becoming a leading apprentice mentor in the years to come.

Glyn’s ability to communicate to those around him led to his invitation to take part in the ground breaking of the National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster and meet Terry Morgan, Chair of the Corporate Board for the National College for High Speed Rail and Beth West, Commercial director for High Speed 2. Both were impressed with his ability to communicate and he expressed his eagerness to engage with the college when opened, which they are keen for him to do.

I have no doubt that Glyn will develop into one of the most knowledgeable OLE engineers in the industry and I look forward to seeing him develop in years to come“

Andrew Fawkes

Said the following about Glyn Oliver:

“I have been Glyn’s mentor since he joined VolkerRail and it has been an honour to watch him develop into the professional and highly skilled engineer he is today.

Throughout his time with the company, I have watched Glyn grow and become a knowledgeable and well-rounded individual. He is one of the most friendlies young professionals I have had the honour of working with and his ability to take everything in his stride is commendable.

Glyn’s communication skills supersede those that have been in the industry for over a decade and his ability to develop new innovate ideas and techniques to complete work for the client, in the most sufficient way, has led him to gain the respect of all those around him.

The team Glyn works with believe his knowledge of OLE goes above and beyond that of any apprentice they have worked with. They have even taken away new ideas and skills that he has brought to the team from his apprenticeship, into their projects.

Glyn is keen to support those also studying engineering apprenticeships, so much so that he is now seen as a mentor in his own right to those who joined VolkerRail’s apprentice scheme in the last few years.

I am without doubt that Glyn will become a successful and influential engineer and I look forward to working with him and following his success story for years to come.“

Sue Diggles

Said the following about Glyn Oliver:

“Glyn is a shining example of what any company would want from an apprentice.

Glyn became an Apprentice with VolkerRail in 2013, through an Advanced Apprenticeship in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Doncaster College. Whilst studying for this qualification Glyn has been actively engaged on the VolkerRail apprenticeship programme and has gained experience in all parts of the business through both technical and support placements including: finance, commercial, work winning and design. He has gained experience in all aspects of engineering through working with Signalling, Electrification, M & EE and Plant. The feedback from engineers and managers who have been involved with Glyn has been phenomenal; he has excelled in everything he has undertaken.

During his time with the overhead line department, Glyn gained the praise of the Senior Design Engineers and Engineering Director for his contribution on various design projects. He works with minimal guidance and learns very quickly. At an early stage Glyn was identified as a potential future overhead line engineer and has attended and passed a number of Overhead Line courses including Network Rail’s OLEC 1 & 2 which when taking into account his age is a fantastic achievement.

Glynn has registered on VolkerRail’s Engineering Excellence programme and at a recent IET professional registration event the IET assessor was extremely complimentary about his achievements to date and his vision for the future in undertaking a Master’s Degree and attaining Chartered Engineer status.

In the work place Glyn has taken a leading role in offering mentorship and advice to the apprentices who are following in his footsteps. He often gives support to new apprentices who raise any concerns or queries.

Positive feedback from engineers and managers who have been involved with Glynn has been forthcoming and his progress has been reported as excellent.

During his time at Doncaster College Glyn has an exemplary record of attendance and punctuality. The reports from his tutors state that he is a highly motivated student who takes full responsibility for his learning and always completes his work to a very high standard. He always meets his targets timely and takes every opportunity to develop his skills and knowledge base. Glynn is keen to support fellow students in practical an theory sessions and demonstrated a keen interest in helping others.

Glyn’s development was also noted for an internal award at group level, he came second in the apprentice of the year award, which we are hoping he will win this year.

Glyn is also active in numerous charity-based actives for the company, including, sponsored rugby tournaments and football events and safety awareness days for children. His willingness to take part is amendable and he is always willing to go above and beyond to raise awareness for so many worthy causes.

During his time with VolkerRail Glyn has been dedicated to achieving his goal of gaining a level three apprenticeship certificate and becoming a valued member of the team.

Glyn has demonstrated maturity beyond his years and is a credit to the organisation. We look forward to watching him develop into a professional OLE Engineer.“